The Cohen Syncopation disc has to remove itself from serious consideration for the sheer awfulness of the feature film. The extras, notably the Paramount 30s jazz shorts, also presented in 1080p are certainly worth the price of admission and worth everyone's attention for the great black artists who populate them, notwithstanding some settings and costumes (Louis Armstrong in jungle caveman gear and a bone) which are so absurd and apparently demeaning they kind of transcend the hideousness of their white (racist) creators with the sheer excess of quality in all of the musical performances. But the feature just cannot be taken seriously. Literally Dieterle's very worst picture which itself begins with several misconceptions about jazz history and is further mangled by nervous nelly producer to literally hand over the spread and real creation of American jazz to a couple of honky kids - Bonita Granville and Jackie Coogan - who once overheard some black musos back when, and proceeded themselves to recreate and forge the jazz idiom only bringing back in the beloved darkies as a second thought. It's completely absurd. And offensive. Perhaps the two Shirley Clarke films were chosen to balance the Dieterle, but it really has to be contextualized. The print and transfer are top level work, as is Fox's mint ultra high quality 1080p of Stormy Weather on Twilight Time (which might have been considered in tandem with the Dieterle.)

For the rest I have my usual quibbles which is how it seems to be every year. I wish they would give Dave Kehr a seat on the panel, we might actually get some attention paid to classic American cinema on disc. There are still some being produced, just not so many these days. And I don't mean Criterion.

Rosenbaum's pick of Charlie Varrick from Koch Germany is a good one from the literally dozens of Classic American titles released in German BD this year. My pick would have unhesitatingly been Canyon Passage. There's been so much coming out of Germany this year under license from Fox and Universal, the German American classic catalogue BD is now a virtual sub category.

The Lobster website specifies both French and English "versions," which I can only assume means subtitles. And this article states in the opening paragraph that all the films have subtitles in both languages.

Yeah, there are some weird stuff there.Why the Raro DVD of Le carosse d'or while the movie has been released on BD in France (I guess the DVD has English subs, the French BD doesn't) ? Why the random Becker movie from Gaumont ? No Pathé restoration, especially none of their Duvivier ? And what is special about this Amarcord release than the Criterion doesn't have ?But hey, let's drop a non-optimum 4K resto from Studio Canal !

Maybe... the missed chance to attract a wider audience? Again this is just my opinion and does not necessarily conform to Ritrovato's standard. (After all, they did nominate it.)

I have never regarded this award as a Italian or domestic award. It is rather a global survey of worthy releases and is selected by a group of international experts like Jonathan Rosenbaum who consider titles published from all over the world. From past experience, the inclusion of English subtitles has been mentioned from time to time as the (added) value of a winner, such as the Portabella set, Epstein set, and Arté's Out 1 set.

Back to Amarcord, if a label, say Arrow Academy, had put out the 4K master with supplements and English subtitles, I don't see how the Italian release could have competed even though it is the 'native' release.

I have never regarded this award as a Italian or domestic award. It is rather a global survey of worthy releases and is selected by a group of international experts like Jonathan Rosenbaum who consider titles published from all over the world.

Fair enough, but if the aim is to attract a global audience, why not Mandarin or Spanish subtitles? Not that I'm against English subtitles, but the suggestion that a foreign release is unworthy of international attention without them seems a bit extreme. (And I'm pretty sure that most of the British and American titles nominated don't include subtitles that would make them accessible to the many people in the world who don't understand English.)

Each disc opens with a menu asking the viewer to select FRENCH or ENGLISH. Choose the second and you get English menus and English subs on all bonuses as well as the main features. The accompanying booklet (32 pages) is only in French.

I had an intresting conversation with Tony Rayns about the Sternberg in particular (although he had no part in choosing the selection for 2017.) While glad to see Salvation Hunters and Lena Smith fragment get a gong no one there seem even remotely aware and even less interested that Universal Vault released a legit DVDR earlier this year of Sternbegr's American Tragedy. IMO a film fully equal to the 1925 work. The panel is always skewed to favor Euro arthouse and inhouse chums, and sorry guys but it needs people like serious disc and film collectors on it who actually know what's out there. I find the elitism and disdain for classic American material from the panel tiresome, year in and out. Rosenbaum always finds interesting things but he's a lone voice on it frankly.